We talked to 45 Facebook users about Live video and they pointed us to one big problem

Facebook is betting big on Live, the new video broadcasting tool
that it
introduced about eight months ago.

Live lets any Facebook user instantly became a star, a newscaster
or a witness by streaming their phone's video feed for the world
to watch in real time. It's already been used for serious
events like the attempted military
coup in Turkey and the shooting death of
Philando Castile, as well as for lighter fare like the
famous Chewbacca
Mom video.

But how popular is Live among Facebook's ordinary users?

Business Insider conducted an informal, unscientific survey
of roughly 45 typical Facebook users from all over the
United States, ranging between ages 19 and 62, to get a sense of
how often they used Live and what they think of it.

The results show that Live has already made important
headway establishing itself as part of the entertainment mix that
people enjoy on Facebook. But the survey also highlights a big
problem Facebook may face as it tries to fill the internet
airwaves with a steady stream of interesting
content.

Nearly half of the people we spoke to said they have already
tuned into a handful of Live videos when the videos were
actually streaming in real time.

Business Insider / Jillian
D'Onfro

Facebook users can also watch replays of the Live videos in
their Newsfeeds, and the majority of Facebook users say they've
watched such clips, with roughly 7 out of 10 people
saying they had watched replays of the Live
videos.

It's worth noting that this survey was
conducted slightly before the Diamond Reynolds video of the
Castile shooting went viral, meaning that some of the "no"
respondents may have since watched a replay of that that
particular Live clip on Facebook.

Business Insider / Jillian
D'Onfro

Although watching videos already is becoming
more common among Facebook users, creating a Live video is
decidedly not. Almost no one who took our survey had ever made
their own Live video. The cut off answers below are "No, but I've
been in a friend's video," and "Yes, but through a work
account." Business Insider / Jillian
D'Onfro

This lack of user generated Live videos may explain Facebook's
efforts to enlist professionals.

To Citron Research's Andrew Left, the strategy of paying
for videos makes Facebook like more like a content business and
highlights why he thinks Live is such a big priority for
Facebook: It needs to keep engagement.

"I don’t need to check my Instagram every half hour —
there’s a difference between keeping up with my friends and
stalking my friends. And [Facebook] knows that!" Left tells
Business Insider. "And that’s why they need to produce this
content. Why would they spend these millions of dollars on this
if all you wanted to see was, ‘What did Andrew eat for dinner
last night?'"

"They understand the fact that they have to expand beyond
social media," says Left.

Competition

There's plenty of competition in the battle to replace TV
as the go-to destination for live video.

Facebook is the most popular live-streaming outlet for the
people surveyed, closely followed by Snapchat:Business Insider / Jillian
D'Onfro

People most often find Live Videos through their friends, or
after getting a notification from a person or Page that they
follow.

Similarly, Facebook tells Business Insider that its official
numbers show that 48% of all video watch
time comes from shares:

Business Insider

Most people don't know that Facebook is paying certain
publications to make Live videos.

Business Insider / Jillian
D'Onfro

In an open format follow-up question we asked
whether that changed people's opinions of Live, and
the response was a resounding "nope."

"It doesn't change my opinion necessarily," one 23-year-old
wrote, "But it does make me wonder why FB is trying so hard to
force something that no one is asking for."

Wall Street will likely grill Facebook on how it plans to make
money from Live when the company reports its Q2 earnings on July
27.